The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-09-01
Highways and Byways in Old Mexico.

highways anu Dy ways III Olu MEXICO,
4 FAMOUS SUGAR-HACIENpA BELONGING TO
THE DUKES DE MoNTELEoNE. CoRrEZ' LAST
| WILL AND TESTAMENT. THE RUINS OF
| NOcIIICAIEO TEMPLES BUILT BY UNKNOWN
HANDS IN TIE MORNING OF MENICO'S HIS
TORY.
! Correspondence of the journal.
MENICo, Aug. 7lh 1887. About six miles
from Cucrnavaca. near the Indian village
! Acapancin.o. is a faIlollS hacienda which still
belongs to lineal descendants of the Cortez
| family. known in the last century as the Dukes
| 'lc Montclcohc. 1t is one of the finest sugar.
| plantations in all Mexico, IFS average Weld be-
| in" .1o.ooo lbs. per annllm-l'e>idcs coffee
tobacco. bananas. pimc-applcs. and other pro-
| ducts.
| The name of the hacienda is AtIaramuIco,
aud like many others in this country, it is Il lit
II. kingdom " ithin itself, quite Independent of
| the rest Of the world. lis fort-likc walls have
| wiih>tood nntmhcrcl raids by robbcr, and
rcyoiuton>ts. and within them are buildings
and people enough to form u respectable vii
la@e Here men. l,"oHs and horses are reckon
ed 10y the hundreds. and the owner thereof is
absolute monarch Of all he surveys.
Besides fields of su.ar-canc. Stretching far
n the eye can reach. are rotlee-"rovcS with
inll rnor~AEp >n:nEuls TREES,
! :" the oNrrscrr tells I,,. putting forth white
blossoms. green fruit and ripeneh berries ali at
"nr' while hcypnd, stretching away to the
/ distant hills. are plains where uucountcd herds
| Of cattle aud horses range at will. Even the
| far OIL hills, with ti.cir l"dcs Of precious metal.
| ana the mining lIamlctS clustered among them.
| belong t" the same estate; besides miles of
| 'mcutiVa'elI valleys and untro,licn ranolls
iln tlInr III.
| happy ili9-ground>.
| There Is Il great cUSa for builin" the sugar.
whose furnaces blaze night and day from wear
/" Year; an immense adobe house containing
machinery for extracting the Juice of the cane;
r,'iihin" rooms drying sheds. etc.. ctr.-:lll on
me most generous scale. Then there is another
hl@ mn Tor separating roilce-lcais from the
rhaii sheds in which coffee i, dried and aSsorl-
rd; di>tillcrv where "g"orliente (rl,ml is
made from the refuse of the sugar mills: be-
sides enormous srancreS. barns. stables, store
houses and bakeries: a small church belonging
10 t" estate; Il ">torc" for s,pplyinw The.
poems with every necessity. from bacon to
PRAYER books: machine shop AMI smithv,
where farm implements are repaired and
horses Sliod-in short. every requisite for SlS-
| tanning several hundred ncopc with no assist
Hnrr from the outside world. Truly. to he Il
NcNcan k0ri.ntlHt'o on this magnificent plan
I- better than to be an D,l World prince!
Sugar was unknown to the ancient AZterS,
who nadc syrup from wild honey and the
J'!lrr "i the "mniprr>cnt "century" plant or
liirur!. Su"ar-raic was first brought by the
Sl'aniari> I" the tanar, Islands, then to Santo
Domingo. thence to Cuba. and naturally soo,
afterwards to Mexico. Though Cortcz descend
ant claim thai the entire credit belongs to their
lllu>lrioi!S ancestors i! is Il fact that the first
Su-ar-''ancS were planted in this country in
i2n. by one Senior Don Pedro de Atirnz,. The
first >lI-al-mll> built by the SpnniarlS were
worked by hydraulic wheels. not as now bv
horses or mules; and the first cylinders were
constructed b., G"nzllo de Nclo>i.
Baron Humboldt, who examined
CuErEZ' WILL,
tells lis that the tollueror left several -four
l>hli@ stigar-plhlaionS near Cuyoacan, in the
Valley OF Mexico. where now lowing, it is
supposed. to the cutting down Of the forcSt>D
ii is too cold for any cane to grow.
Nos; of our thrce-davs' stay at Atlacamulco
was spent out of doors. and every meal-cX-
ccpt the early chocolate served in hc,l--Was
eaten under the lines and pomc-ranitcs of the
court yard. or in the adjacent garden. The
latter was one of the most beautiful have
seen in this land of beautiful gardens Its
lemons. oranges. olives. aguacac> and other
tropical fruits blend their green branches and
odor"l,> blossoms into natural arches. thick
that even the southern sun cannot penetrate
them by Il single golden arrow. Springs of
clear water are directed all over the plantation
for lrrigaing purposes, and in The garden
their courses are broken hN artificial cascades |
and waterfalls. fringcd By ferns and lilies the
paths upon either side bortlcrc,l by pailSicS and
hedges OF ro>c-trtrS. Ruby red cardinals,
golden c""d~lertts. }aroquct>. and other bright
winged birds al" forever plnn@ themselves
i'll the cool shadows. but it is Il perularitv of
the" "orgr"uslN feathercdtrib of the tropics
that none of them can sin. we'll as the
plane>t brown bird of the North.
Aliarlmuro has another attraction, very |
rare III the cactus country.-that of rich. soft |
Grass. R,lectn% the customary hammorkS, |
We sr,trhe, ourselves out upon il and lnXriat-
eel in the warm air heavy with perfumes, and |
wished that life might last forever in such an |
Eden.
About twelve miles from this hacienda lie
the wonderful but little known
KViNS or NoCmICALCU.
which none Who come his way should fail to |
see The hest route by which to reach them |
follows the celebrated "Arapulcu traiI'' To the |
indian hamlet called Nochtl (rhc Flower), Or |
to the adjacent hacienda of the same name, |
where a guide and horses may be obtained. |
For more than three hundred years the high |
way between that southern part and Mexico |
city was constantly trodlen by countless huyIus |
laden with merchandise. But since new routes |
have been opened across the continent, pictur- |
csIu" Acapulco, which in ol.lcn times Il |
busy maritime city. has fallen into compare |
tive di>u>r. To il came. and from ii sailed. all
those historic %alleon> which performed their |
portion of the voyage between the Indies and |
Spain. The voyage between Manila and the
Mexican coast occupied six months. and on |
arriving there the rich frcighta.e was trans
ported overland by thousand ,lonkey>. and |
such portion aS was not sold in the City of
Mexico was sent 10 Vera Cruz and there re- |
shipped I" Spain. History ellis is that Il Single |
gallr"n frequently reached the value of two |
million dollars: AMI a. but one ship arrived in |
year, IFS advent was anyi"u>ly looked for by |
every class of people rs well rs by merchants |
and marines. 1t brought calico aud m,lslinS,
silks, Grape. jewels and spices: and carried |
back gold, silver. tochinca, cocoa. and some
times few Monks or IIiialyor> Is passengers. |
Evcryho,ly remembers the ciarnlin. picture
Of thn>, golden lays given ~ Bret Hart in his
'i.o>i Gallron:
it, sixteen hundred and forty -onc.
The regular yearly gaIlcon, |
Laden with odorulis gum and spice,
India cotton and India rice,
And the richest silks Of fur t,iIl:,v
Was due ut Acapulco bay.
The trains We're waiting outside the walls.
The wives Of sailors throngc,l the town,
The traders set by their empty stalls,
And the Nirrr"y himself came down." etc. |
!;tt far more ancient and interesting than |
Institutions of trade between Spain and the |
Indies is NochiraIro, the "IIill of Flowers" |
and the ruins which cover il. The hill is |
about three hundred feet high ana t~ base is
surrounded by very distinct traces of deep, |
wide ditch. Five special terraces mount to |
the summit. the walls that support them being |
blllt o1 stone joined by cement, and still quite
perfect. At regular distances. as if to butircss
these terraces. are wcIl-prcscrve.l remains of |
bulwark> shaped like the h.,stions of ii fortili- |
cation. The summit of the hill is Il wide cs- |
plana.le. on the eastern side Of which still |
pcrccptibc three truncated cones, closely re- |
>cmbng the Mn"ti found among many SINH |
lar ruins in Mexico.
Ell CASTILLO,
as the structure on top Of the last terrace is |
called. is n rectangular building, G4N5S feet, |
facing in exact correspondence with the cardi- |
nal points.
The hill itself lies directly north from the |
Valley Of Mexico, aud the sacred fires of the
people who once wOrShirped there must have |
served beacon to guide the early Aztccs |
who journcye.i from their capital in this ,lirec-
ton.
Every one must be his own Columbus and |
explore for himself Il path among the rugged |
hills of NocIicalro, through fields thickly |
strcwn with volcanic debris and past the |
open shafts of many an abandoned mine,
which show that silver has once been found |
here-and may be again when Yankee enter
prise and capital come to dig deeper than the |
lazy Spaniar,ls.
As one slowly climbs up the tcrraced slopes
of the great hill, the intense heat which has |
tortured him below gradually gives place to
cooling brecZcs, and Il glorious prospect is ull-
folded-chieily Of barren hills and plains, di-
vidcd everywhere with deep barrancas, and |
two lovely lakes to the southwark Great
StnunS oro torn.l .lI ornuuJ ,noet 81 %I,.,,,